Sitting here in “my office” – a tent under a tin roof shelter in Swaziland, I realize I probably haven’t updated many of you on my life after the Race.
It hasn’t turned out the way I expected (as many things in life tend to do). Everything in me thought I would be knee-deep in the paperwork and logistics of starting a nonprofit for Haiti this month, not sweating it out under the hot African sun while chickens peck the red dirt around my tent.
Stick with me – it’s even hard for me to wrap my head around the sudden and strange turn of events that have led me here to a little bush town called Nsoko.
Every so often I jerk my head to the left or right, responding to a slight scratching or movement outside my “office.” I’m slightly nervous I’ll see a cobra – or maybe even the even more deadly ‘black mamba.” It’s a real fear – two guys killed a cobra while I watched a few weeks ago – one going after it with a pole, the other bashing it’s head in with a brick. We’re thick in the bush of Africa and out here, anything can happen. My friends saw giraffes in the wild yesterday. The only place in town with WIFI also has a zebra as a pet (his name is Hops – and he bites!).
I’m told the mountains behind me are South Africa, although I can’t figure it out when I look at a map. A herd of goats roam freely throughout the property, occasionally stopping traffic outside. We take Combis everywhere (or two the two places in town – a gas station with a small grocery store attached – and a hotel/restaurant that has wifi. For fun we take walks to the furthest place we are allowed to walk – the railroad tracks – and walk across the street to the tiny store that sells cokes and orange Fantas. Cookies if we feel like treating ourselves.
This morning our water went out so we pumped water into buckets for cooking and showers. We’re constantly caked in dirt and mud. When we wash clothes, we fill two buckets and hand wash everything we own, pouring out red dirt water at the end. We own one chair, and it’s currently missing.
I’m pretty sure a cow woke me up last night.
The thing is, I didn’t plan this life. But I don’t mind it. In fact, I couldn’t have dreamed of anything more wonderful. I hope I didn’t paint a picture of hardship and a difficult lifestyle. Because that’s not it at all. I love it here. How incredible it is to travel, encourage other missionaries, and to focus on storytelling 100% of my day. How wonderful to have built in adventures, to have a constantly changing landscape. How freeing to be in charge of my own schedule, some of my own travel – the rhythm of my day.
Africa is amazing. I love the simplicity of it all. I love thinking – without interruption. I love (and equally sometimes get frustrated by) the slow pace of life. I love that my treat for the day is a coke and that all of my belongings fit in two small bags in my tent. I love that I only have 5 shirts to choose from. I love getting excited about rain – nature’s A/C – and hot showers when I get a chance to take them (which is when I go to the teams in the bigger town).
Let me explain – my new role is “Squad Content Manager” – or “SCM.” It’s a new role implemented by Adventures in Missions to travel with a squad and help them share their stories – through encouragement, training and more practical, logistical things like finding wifi and actually posting the updates for racers. I’ll be with R Squad for 3 months – through South Africa, Swaziland, Madagascar, Malaysia and China (and yep, there are two extra countries in there – lucky me!).
I was totally surprised by this opportunity – but I saw the Lord’s hand in it – so I jumped in, headfirst, without even looking.
I left for the World Race for an 11 month long mission trip. Each month, it felt like month __ (fill in the blank) of an 11 month trip. But now – I’m not on “Month 14” of the World Race – or even “Month 1 of a 3 month trip.”
This is my LIFE. And I’ll follow where He leads. And, at least for this time of my life, he has many more adventures in store.
I’ll take him up on the ride.
